Lost Gold Chronicles: The Dust Bunnies Are Coming
by CJ Moliere
Summary: First in a series of one shots featuring members of the extended Gold family. Little Hope Gold is terrified the dust bunnies that have invaded her home and nightmares and it seems that only her mother can make them go away with her broom!


**~ The Dust Bunnies Are Coming! ~ **

When Hope watched her mother clean she always heard her talking about nasty little things called dust bunnies but she never saw them. They seemed to like living in her Daddy's office the most and her Mommy would chase them with her broom. Then when her Daddy came home her Mommy would ask him how many times she told him that he had to stop cluttering up the corners because the dust bunnies would pile up in there. Hope didn't understand how a bunch of bunnies could be comfortable piling up in corners as small as the ones in Daddy's office. How did they eat, sleep or go to the potty? She asked her Mommy this one day.

"Don't you worry, sweetie. You'll never have to see those nasty little things."

"Cause you chase em with the broom?"

"Because I chase them with my broom." her mother affirmed.

"Are they ugly, Mommy?"

"Very ugly."

"Then I'm glad I don't see 'em."

Later that night she had a dream that she heard something growling in the corner of her room. The little girl crawled out of bed and tip toed over to the corner. A big grey bunny popped out of the corner, saliva dripping from its fangs and its eyes glowing fire red.

"I'm gonna get you and I'm gonna eat you up," it taunted.

The child sat upright in bed and screamed, the noise bringing her parents running into the room. She threw herself into her father's arms while Belle turned on the lamp.

"Hope, sweetheart, what's the matter?" he asked worriedly.

"It was just a bad dream sweetie," Belle soothed as she stroked the little girl's back.

"No it wasn't," she wailed. "It...it said it was gonna _eat me!" _

"What was?"

"A...a...dust bunny!"

Rumple frowned at his wife. "Belle! Exactly _how _did you describe dust bunnies to our daughter that makes her afraid they'll eat her?"

"I didn't!" she protested. "I just said they were nasty and ugly and we wouldn't have them if you'd keep your office corners unclutterd," she reminded him angrily.

"It is nasty!" Hope cried. "It has fangs, red eyes and its fur sticks up and looks greasy like it doesn't wash it! We gotta get Mommy's broom so's she can chase it away and Daddy...you gots to keep the trash outta your office corner so's they go away!"

Rumple slapped his forehead with his hand. "I don't believe this! Hope, if I show you what a real dust bunny looks like I promise you it's not gonna eat you."

"O...Okay..." she said softly.

Rumple waved his hand, conjuring a dust bunny.

Hope gazed up at it. "Daddy...what is that?"

"This is what your Mommy calls a dust bunny. It's made up of a bunch of nonliving stuff...spider webs, dirt, hair, lint even trash and it is _not going to eat you." _

"Ewww!" The little girl wrinkled her nose in disgust. "That's gross! Daddy, you gots to keep your office corners clean 'cause I don't wanna see those nasty things."

"And I hate having to pick them out of my broom!" Belle grumbled.

"Huh? They gets stuck in your broom?" Hope asked her mother.

"Yes they do."

"Ewwww!"

"All right. Now that you've seen what they are, do you believe me when I tell you they can't eat you?" Rumple inquired.

"Uh huh."

"Now it's time for you to go back to sleep."

"We gotta get Mommy's broom first."

"Why?"

"Cause you got a dust bunny in your hand and we need the broom to make it go away."

Rumple made the dust bunny vanish. "There. All gone. Now get back to sleep."

"Ummm...Daddy if you can make 'em go poof, why does Mommy hafta chase 'em with the broom?"

"So I can tell Daddy he has to keep clutter out of the corners." Belle teased.

"Did he have lotsa cluttered corners in the big castle?"

Belle chuckled. "Yes he did."

"Didya yell at him?"

"Oh, all the time."

"If you two are finished, you should be getting back to sleep Hope Marie." her father said. They kissed their daughter goodnight and tucked her into bed. Once they were back in their own bed, Rumple scowled at his wife. "Wonderful, dearie! Now our daughter thinks I'm a slob!"

"Well if you wou'd stop being such a hoarder we wouldn't have a dust bunny problem in the first place," she scolded. "I'm warning you Rumplestiltskin, one of these day I am going to call Mother Superior and ask her to send her donation truck over here because I won't have any more clutter in my house. Thank the gods you don't have this problem in our house in Florida."

He cringed, dreading the day Mrs. Potts would tell her about the junk room in the summer mansion's third floor….


End file.
